


The Promise

by OperationFCC



Series: Tumblr Sheith Prompts and Drabbles [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M, SHEITH - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 16:25:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11039895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OperationFCC/pseuds/OperationFCC
Summary: Shiro and Keith share a tender moment outside of Keith's desert shack.





	The Promise

The garrison trio had gathered together on Keith’s couch, exchanging words in anxious yet elated conversation.   **  
**

“Man, that was so close.  Imagine if they’d caught us.  We’d be kicked out of garrison.”

“Kicked out of the garrison?  We could have gotten arrested.”

“All I know is, I’m glad to be off that bike.  I thought I was going to puke.”

In his cramped shack, there couldn’t have been more than eleven or twelve feet in between him and the group, but their voices began to fade farther and farther away as Keith turned his back to them and faced the window.  An old, ratty sheet covered the glass, obstructing his view of the outside.  When he carefully pulled it away from the window, Keith felt his throat tighten.

He was there.  Shiro was there, and he was alive.  Breathing.  On Earth.  With Keith.

Shiro was standing on a small mound of dirt, his gazed fixed upon his arm.  The right arm that was all tech, no flesh.  A sharp chill ran through Keith.  What the hell happened to him?  What was out there in the vastness of space that could do this to him?

Keith breathed in slowly through his nose, as if readying himself.  He didn’t know how many times he had imagined this moment until he finally just gave up hope of it ever happening.  For the first few months, he was so sure; he knew it in his bones that Shiro was alive.  But as the year dragged on, the uncertainty crept in and settled itself inside of Keith’s chest.  Everyone else seemed to believe Shiro was dead.  Maybe they were right.  Maybe Keith had truly missed his chance to tell Shiro how he felt.  And he hated himself for it.

And then Keith got booted from the garrison and ended up here.  Never in his dreams did he think Shiro would too.

He left the shack, and as he made his way toward Shiro, he could feel his heart start to race.  What was the matter with him?  Why, in the midst of his friend’s incredible return, did he feel the need to turn around and run as far away as he could?  As Keith stopped beside Shiro and reached out to set a hand on his shoulder, the answer struck him square in the chest.  

He was terrified.  If he touched him now, would his friend disappear in a cloud of smog, like in his nightmares?  

Keith clasped his hand gingerly on Shiro’s shoulder and cool relief flooded through him.  This was real, and Shiro was here.  “It’s good to have you back,” Keith said as evenly as he could.  

Shiro turned his head to look at Keith, breathing out a soft laugh.  “It’s good to be back.”

“I… Shiro, I missed you.” The words tumbled out of Keith’s mouth before could stop them.  He pulled his hand away from Shiro’s shoulder, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

But there was no confusion on Shiro’s face and certainly no shame.  Without a hint of irony, he smiled at Keith, a warm, understanding smile that banished away any tension Keith felt in his muscles.  “I missed you, too, Keith,” he said quietly.

Keith stood there, stunned by the sincerity in his words.  He didn’t know how to respond, but Shiro had spared him a heavy silence and continued, his gaze then turned toward the rising sun, “I wish I could tell you what happened.  It’s all a blur.  There was pain.  A lot of it.  I remember… wanting to die.”

“Shiro…” Keith had to whisper to keep his voice from breaking.

“But,” his friend went on wistfully, and Keith wasn’t prepared for the tender look in Shiro’s eyes when they met his, “I thought of you, constantly, and I knew I needed to survive somehow and get back to Earth.  I remember thinking that I needed to find my way back to you, no matter what.”

This had to be a dream.  A cruel, hyper-realistic dream that was just stemming from his months of isolation in this god-forsaken desert.  How could Keith have gone from missing his chance to having it thrust back into his arms overnight?  How could Shiro have gone from dead in space to alive and breathing, here on Earth.  With Keith.  “What.. what are you saying?” he manage to stammer out, feeling more and more foolish that he couldn’t find anything worth while to say.

Without warning, Shiro pulled Keith into a tight embrace, so tight it almost hurt.  Keith could feel his warm breath on his neck, and a shudder rippled through him.  Forsaking any more muddled thoughts, he clasped his arms behind Shiro’s back and squeezed, pressing his cheek against his chest.  He could feel Shiro’s heart against his ear, beating steady but fast.

“I’m saying that I’m not going anywhere, ever again.” Though muffled, the promise and certainty rang clear in his voice.  “I’m not going to leave you again.  Okay?”

Something was coming to earth; Keith could feel it.  It was something dangerous, and it had everything to do with the strange energy that drew him to the deserts.  But in that moment, none of that mattered.  Whatever was coming, they would face it, and if it was Shiro they were after, they’d have to go through Keith first.  He was not going to lose him again.  He closed his eyes and just let himself feel Shiro’s embrace before whispering back, “Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> Visit me on Tumblr!
> 
> Username: sword-and-sheith


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